Icehouse

Album: Icehouse (1980)
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Songfacts®:

  • Icehouse is an Australian term for an insane asylum, which is where this song takes place. The song was written by their main man Iva Davies, who went through a period of depression as a teenager and whose songs often have an aimless, insecure and affected quality. Regarding his experiences with insane asylums like he sings about here, Davies said, "A couple of people I knew were experienced acid takers, and then suddenly they kind of lost it and ended up in hospital and haven't been able to function ever since. I was there; I saw it happen. I saw somebody flip out and start hitting people and run off into the night. We were called by North Ryde Psychiatric Hospital. The person spent days and days and days there being pumped full of Valium and then came out of it virtually a vegetable."
  • The group was known as Flowers when this song was first released. They changed their name to Icehouse due to a naming conflict with another band internationally. Icehouse recorded a number of hits during the '80s in Australia, and charted in the US with "Crazy" and "Electric Blue." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Hilton - Newcastle, Australia

Comments: 2

  • Curtis Sulaski from Peoria, IlIn 1977 here in central Illinois on 105.7 FM WWCT on a Friday night, this very first self titled album was played in its entirety recorded applauses separating each song and during such we as listeners learned a rather traumatic story still affecting me in the world of sadness today about this very song, band and album ICEHOUSE. “There was a young girl I observed living there from across the street in the apartment I had made my own her daily activities encapsulating me in such a way this song I believed and knew had to be written,” Iva remarked those 49 long years ago so also noted by the host the music program featuring his rock group’s self titled introduction album, Icehouse, was so described. Curious it would be discovering the true fate this young woman moving along in life after whatever was determined of her in the actual true Icehouse and GOD Bless her in the meantime moving forward.
  • Elisa from Chatham New YorkThanks Songfacts for a bit of the origin of one of my fav bands of the Eighties. Listening to Sidewalk now! I hope to see them as I never have. Timeless music! I hope there’s no more depression in this band. I know how it can be. ‼️
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